Wanna Help The Environment And Save Tons Of Gas? Heck With A Prius, Buy A Motorcycle!

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

Yeah! Buy a motorcycle! There are many to choose from and some even get like 70-80 mpg! I mean, you may want a Prius but you don't need one to drive to work. For driving to work why not get a good fuel efficient motorcycle? Think of how many gallons of gas a year we'd save if just everybody did that! Hey, they're not even that expensive! To those who want to be able to say they get better mpg than most, well there ya go! Woooohoooo motorcycles! :P


Caveat: The above does not apply to those who walk, cycle or take mass transportation. That is obviously far better of an option. This, however, is for those who must drive something and is also lighthearted in premise.

[Arugula Latte]

1. No thanks. I prefer my brains kept in my skull and not on the pavement.

[xmas74]

2. I would if I didn't have a kid.

And I saw that fight you were in earlier today. I've spent the whole day in GD.

[av8rdave]

3. I would wholeheartedly recommend a motorcycle, but only to those

who have a LOT of experience. Pity anyone who tries to learn on today's roads!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. Motorcycles don't have catalytic converters.

Better mileage, not so good on emissions or effeciency.

[cloudbase]

12. Many of today's motorcycles

sold in the U.S. meet the European emissions standards. Lots of fuel injected and ECU controlled engine management systems for reduced emissions.

[Rosemary2205]

28. Canadian, Swiss and French reports show the pollution from a bike is awful

http://www.ec.gc.ca/science/sandemay01/article1_e.html

http://motoring.reuters.co.uk/reuters/vocmain.jsp?lnk=101&id=1498


Appearantly pollutants from bikes are 3 times more than an SUV and 80 times more than a Prius.

Gas powered lawn equipment is pretty terrible too.

[sellitman]

5. Motorcycles suck

When it rains.

[rzemanfl]

6. I managed to break a kneecap dumping a moped about 10

years ago. Still feel it every day. Thanks but no thanks.

[Warpy]

7. I have an electric moped

for short trips when I don't have to haul a lot of stuff.

I ride it anywhere I'd use a bike if I were healthy enough.

There is no way I'd go for a motorcycle and ride it on main roads. This is the land of the monster pickup, the SUV and the momvan.

It's dangerous enough to drive my little Korean econobox, and it has air bags.

[Merlot]

8. I've thought of getting a moped for small errands

but the big cars and SUV's scare me. They tend to drive aggressivly (here in SoCal) and are not used to sharing the road with mopeds/bicycles.

Maybe in a smaller town I'd re-consider it.

[Amy6627]

9. Do you know what ER doctors call motorcycle riders?

Organ donors!

[Lex]

14. An ER nurse friend says "No trampolines, no motorcycles or ATVs"

no matter what.

[Arugula Latte]

36. I'd add another: Horses.

As a kid I was completely horse-crazy and eventually got a horse. However, when I think of all the close calls I had (being bucked off, run away with, kicked, etc.), as well as other injuries suffered by other riders, it makes me hope my kids will never want to get into riding (even though I found it all to be completely exhilarating).

I broke my arm one time when I was thrown off when my horse spooked, and the orthopedist shook his head and muttered about horses and all the injuries he'd seen.

[Rosemary2205]

18. An oldie but a goodie. :) nt

[TX-RAT]

10. Wanna Help The Environment

Just curious.

What kind of emission controls and restrictions are on Motorcycle engines?

[nono]

11. Last week I filed my van up, $54.00

I left the gas pump and went straight to the scooter store and bought 2. A250 forv me and a 150 for my wife. (We are both over 65.)

[NightWatcher]

13. I'd love an "organ donor- mobile" as my step mother calls them

I have almost bought a bike on several different occasions. I'll ask you a question I have...Do you prefer the chain drive or belt drive bikes? Is one of them more prone to problem or in need more maintenance? I already have a Corolla and this weekend I got 38-39 mpg as I went back and forth to the mountains. I think that a Corolla is another alternative to a hybrid. Mine cost 14K new and has plenty of room and zip for me and my job.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

15. I Don't Know...

...I've never even ridden a motorcycle. I drive a midsize SUV. :rofl:

[cloudbase]

19. Either is fine.

Chains aren't anywhere near the maintenance problems they were in the past. Or, you can do like I did and go with the shaft driven motorcycles. There are quite a few shaft-driven cycles around. I own two Guzzis (v-twin done the RIGHT way), and they're not incredibly difficult to maintain, so long as you know which end of a screwdriver to hold.

[ThomWV]

16. My Bike Gets 41 mpg.

FXSTD/I

[Ron Green]

34. My car gets 50.

And it keeps me dry in the rain.

:-)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

35. Just Like With Cars, Ya Gotta Buy The Right One. Some Get 80 MPG.

[MadHound]

17. I agree with you, at least to a certain extent, however that are many factors to that equation

You do get increased fuel efficiency with a motorcycle, there's no doubt about that. However the other side is what comes out of the tailpipe. CC for CC, motorcycles emit more pollutants than cars do, simply due to their lack of a catalytic convertor. However to further complicate this equation is the energy cost and pollutant cost of extracting that extra gas out of the ground for four wheeled vehicles. I haven't seen any studies on this factor, but it is something that must be factored in.

Therefore, I think that one must compromise a bit on your suggestion. And that is buy a small motorcycle, preferably 200 cc or less. I have a 145 cc Bajaj scooter that gets 100 mpg, and emits little pollution, even without a catalytic convertor. And for my needs, it's perfect, traveling up to 55mph with a four speed manual tranny.

Besides, it's a blast to ride through the countryside.

[Solo_in_MD]

20. I ride full time

Large displacement bike and still gets 40 mpg, with a full fairing.

[jgraz]

21. Sorry, I don't go out on NoCal freeways unless I'm surrounded by metal

[nolabels]

29. Sometimes in SoCal pedestrians are even hit inside buildings

I try extra hard to take that double step for safety. You often can spot a foolish driver from far off. Today I was ready for that certain fool who was trying to make the left hand turn into the parking lot from the right hand lane. I stopped in the lane and just about laughed my ass off watching this crazy cat do his thing.

[gravity]

22. Walking is bad for the environment too

Every time you walk, you are exhaling greenhouse gasses and wasting energy.

It's better to just sit on the couch to conserve energy.

[ComerPerro]

37. In that case, I am glad to do my part. Order me a pizza and fire up a movie

[uppityperson]

38. I broke my toe once, stubbed it hard while walking. Walking is dangerous.

[AlCzervik]

23. i just bought a new car and it's on the "Drive clean" list for my state, i'm cool with that.

and it's gets good gas mileage.

When the Priius is available with a manual transmission i'll consider one.

[Marrah_G]

24. Ahh if only I didn't have kids or a house

Otherwise I'd be right there with ya. Unfortunately, I do have those things and the minivan is pretty much a necessity until they all fly the coop and I can move to a little apartment.

[Scout1071]

25. Actually, I bought this yesterday:

[AZBlue]

26. That looks like fun! And a great gas-saver!!

Good for you!

[AZBlue]

27. There is noise pollution to consider though.

I know that it's a voluntary decision to have a motorcycle set to be super loud (I don't know much more about them so that's as technical as I can get) but it's counter-productive to conserve on one end and pollute on the other. So, if anyone's thinking about getting one, please don't make it loud enough to hear 8 blocks away.

[Critters2]

30. Thank you.

Went with a friend to a local state park this weekend. It was "Blessing of the Bikes" motorcycle weekend. We couldn't even have a decent conversation on the trails. We couldn't help but wonder what kind of terror this strikes in the hearts of the wildlife.

We let the park visitor center staff know how we felt before we left. The whole experience was ruined by the inconsiderate bikers.

[Dude_CalmDown]

33. I personally don't want loud pipes but...

...it does get you noticed - which is a good thing to be on a bike.

[kineneb]

31. Mom won't let me

after Little Brother had to be re-assembled; some bozo did not see him on the bike and made a left turn into him. Result- messed-up back, compound lower leg fracture (requiring metal pins), mashed-up kneecap.

Nope, even though I am 48, Mom will not let me have a motorcycle. End of story.

[lutefisk]

32. My last motorcycle barely got 25mpg on the highway

Of course the fact that it had six carburetors explains a lot.

[ContraBass Black]

39. Orange juice is up 40 cents per gallon this year.

I need to find an alternative fuel for my bicycle.

[guitar man]

40. beat you to it

been riding 33 years, since I was 10. Current ride is a '99 Harley Davidson 883 Sportster Custom. Highway mileage has been between 52-57 mpg or so most days, best day so far was 59mpg, worst day was aroound 47.

Note to any new or prospective riders out there. Take a MSF safety course and wear a helmet and safety gear.

[guitar man]

41. delete-dupe